Young, unemployed South Africans are being scammed into paying malicious parties who promise to train them as traffic officers.
This is according to the North West Department of Community Safety and Transport Management.
The scammers promise victims that the payment will secure them positions in the Road Traffic Learnership – but this is not the case.
One malicious party allegedly asked three young people for R700 for “transport to be trained in Welkom,” with no intention of actually helping these jobseekers.
Furthermore, the North West Department of Community Safety and Transport Management has referred to the situation as a “concerted effort by unknown individuals,” suggesting that the issue is not an isolated incident.
“This is an illegal conduct by those who seek to take advantage of unemployed young people who are in the market for job opportunities,” said Department Head Dr Hans Kekana.
“The Department would like to put it on record that it follows guidelines and procedures outlined by the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) on employment processes.”
“This includes the recruitment of candidates on the traffic learnership,” said Dr Kekana.
“The recruitment process does not require any money from applicants as the Department pays for the transportation and training costs of the successful applicants.”
Dr Kekana called on communities who have been scammed by these malicious parties to lay charges with the police.
South African roads targeted by scammers
This is not the first scam to hit South Africa’s roads in recent months.
In March, TopAuto reported that a new scam had risen in popularity where criminals attempt to charge unknowing individuals for using public roads.
The scammers pretend to be local city officials, and attempt to extort victims by charging them for a “city permit.”
They will often have a card reader to pressure the victims to pay on the spot, while also opening additional scam possibilities like card cloning and manipulating the fee charged.
These card readers will sometimes be attached to public infrastructure like street poles, too, giving additional credibility to the scammer, and primarily target tourists who may assume this is a standard protocol.
“We urge all residents and visitors to Cape Town to be vigilant against a scam targeting tourists,” said Jacques Weber, a representative of the Atlantic Seaboard Response Group.
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